Suggestions for First Timers?

[Shadowharper]

We're certainly not new to Faires, but this will be our first time at Bristol.  Any advice?
I'm bringing my rommate up there for her birthday (August 16-17). 

We both love faires, and have attended quite a few.  After all I've heard about Bristol, I thought it would make a fun trip for both of us.

Thanks!

dyane/aka Shadow Harper

[Dayna]

Check their website for ticket discounts

Stop into the Friends of Faire garden (marked by a jigsaw puzzle piece on the map) and consider buying a guest membership for the weekend.  The garden is a private area with benches, tables, gatorade and water.  It's a great place to get off the street, have a sit, there are shelves and cubbies in the back where things can be stored (as long as you retrieve them by 6:45 p.m.) and always dedicated rennies to talk to.

[sealion]

Can you tell me the cost of the FoF guest membership mentioned in the previous post?

I will be visiting Bristol for the first time this weekend. If you happen to see me, please introduce yourself!

[wildthingjew]

here is a direct quote from the director posted on the bristol friends of faire yahoo groups site:


Hi, All,
>
> We've heard quite a few of you talking about the
> children/stepchildren/grandchildren,
> partners/spouses, and dear friends who can only come to faire with you two
> or three tines
> a year -- too often for the one-time guest membership to work out, but
> maybe not often
> enough to justify the cost of membership. And knowing that we had members
> choosing
> to avoid the garden when those close to them were visiting was breaking
> Edie and I's
> hearts. We care about your happiness, and we want to do what's right by
> you.
>
> So we hatched an idea, and we talked to the fabulous people we work
> with in the office,
> and together, we want to offer up a solution to this issue.
>
> For those of you who have a semi-regular guest (2+ times per season),
> we can now
> allow that guest to be a guest multiple times.
>
> Ok, I can actually see faces staring at computer screens going,
> "Well, duh, why'd this
> take you so long?!" Here's the deal: One of the ways that FoF makes
> money of it's own is
> with the sale of guest memberships. Letting us keep guest money is
> actually *very*
> generous, and we treat that with a lot of respect because we don't want to
> lose it. Guest
> memberships were only intended to be a try-before-you-buy situation. But
> it's become
> obvious to us that there is a need for a sort of extended guest plan for
> people who just
> aren't likely to buy a membership, and we've worked out a solution that is
> we believe to be
> equitable to everyone involved -- you, your guests, FoF, and Faire. Yay!
> This "working
> together" stuff is pretty cool! (And it goes without saying that this
> would not even be
> possible without us having a trust relationship with the folks we work
> with in the office.)
>
> Here's what you need to know: If you have a guest that you know you
> will bring back at
> least one more time, or who has already been a guest once this season,
> we're going to
> have to get information from them by having them fill out a handy-dandy
> membership
> form. (Don't worry -- we'll write a big "GUEST" across the payment
> stuff!) We will assign
> them a guest number, and make them a FoF guest card, which they will need
> to present
> when they first come in for a day as a guest. Guests will still cost 5$
> per visit, and we will
> still give them one of those festive bracelets every time. You'll get a
> receipt with your
> guest's number on it. And that's that.
>
> If you have a one-time guest, you don't need to fill out a big-long
> form or anything
> else at this point -- you'll tell us the first and last name of the guest
> for our records, pay
> us the 5$, get the receipt and the bracelet, etc, just like normal.
>
> We, as your directors, and the people we work with in the office are
> all committed to
> making FoF into the best thing it can be. We are doing our best to
> respond to your
> comments, suggestions, hints, etc.

[sealion]

5 bucks sounds good! But do I need to be the guest of someone who is already a member or do you think I can just walk up and ask to purchase a guest pass? (I'm having a flare up of my fibro/arthritis and, not being willing to cancel or postpone this trip from Michigan, this sounds like the place for rest and relaxation when needed.)